The year is 2231.

    A mining colony is being raided on planet Cepheus in the Cassiopeia star system.  This is the fifth plundering of a resource-rich Earth colony in eight months.  Earth Defense Force command has increased space patrols and ordered all active military crew to stand by.  Intelligence reports have been filtering in over the past two years about a military presence moving randomly through nearby galaxies and systems although its aim remains unclear.  Enemy forces have continually rebuffed all communication attempts.  There is little is known about them other than their military prowess and their genetic link to the people of Denguil.  Hundreds of light years away, Gamilon allies are engaged in several skirmishes on their borders with unknown intruders.  They have not relayed this news to Earth, as they believe the conflict arises out of mere territorial issues. 

    At the time this story begins, the raid on Cepheus, a fairly heavily populated colony and pivotal trade outpost, has escalated the past week into a full-blown takeover.  EDF battle cruisers Novorossiysk and Ikoma orbit the planet to hunt down invading forces.  The military base leaders are perplexed as to how the number of enemy ground forces seems to replenish, despite assurances from the cruiser captains that very few ships have broken through their cordon.  Due to the aggressiveness of the threat, EDF command has authorized the Cepheus forces to counter defensively as needed.  Evacuations of civilian personnel have begun while EDF soldiers descend in greater number on the battlefield south of the predominant mining region.  The troops are involved in heavy hand-to-hand combat, the likes of which have not been seen for many decades.

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